AInvention:  Can an Artificial Intelligence Be An Inventor?

If you ask the movies, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” SciFi offerings have long posited a startling, often menacing future, in which technology itself surpasses people’s ability to do everything, including inventing technology itself.
Many experts note that intelligence is just a naturally-arising technology, residing in our brains. And any technology can be reverse-engineered. From this logic, human-level artificial intelligence, with the ability to invent, just like us, appears to be guaranteed, and just a matter of time.
Others argue that invention by AI is plainly already taking place, right before our eyes. For example, we task complex AI neural networks with creating complex designs, including AI computer chips themselves.
But is it truly likely, or even possible, for machines to be inventive, in real life?